Lutherville Lab Report
What's gone down & what's coming up at the leopards' lair.
April 12, 2024
We had a bustling week at The Lab! Monday we navigated the eclipse and the energy around such a rare event, Wednesday we were thrilled to meet incoming Kindergarten students and families as well as have some productive professional learning. Thursday and Friday our intermediate students did an excellent job working hard on their MCAP state assessments. This week we also welcomed back Nurse Vita! We are glad to have her back holding it down in the Health Suite.
Below are the updated remaining dates for testing. Your support with good nights sleep and encouragement to do their very best are appreciated:
3rd Grade Math: May 2, 3
4th & 5th Grade ELA: April 18, and 19
4th & 5th Grade Math: May 13 and 16
I also wanted to put out another call for musicians and music fans! Excitement is building for our Spring Family Night, which has a music theme, and we'd love for our community to share their interests and/or talents. Sign-up or share your interest through this interest form.
Music Listening Rooms: Have an interest in a particular musical genre? Opera or jazz or blue grass or Bollywood or Chinese opera, or hip hop, or 90's pop? Open to sharing that with our community? We'd love to setup some listening stations in classrooms with devices connected to a playlist (song or video) where students/families could "taste" that genre and get some exposure to new types of music.
Music Performances: We are seeking performers to participate in either scheduled community performances, or provide musical ambiance in the hallways during the evening.
We're looking forward to another great event!
In partnership,
-Mr. McComb
Calendar Reminders:
4/16 - Drama Club Performance, 7pm
4/18 - PTA General Meeting
4/26 - 1:05 Dismissal
4/30 - Spring Family Night 5:30-7:30
Kindergarteners Present and Future
Parents, Caregivers Invited to Free BCPS Special Education Resource Fair on Thursday, April 11
Parents and caregivers of children receiving special education services from Baltmore County Public Schools are invited to participate in the Special Education Resource Fair. The free event, hosted by the BCPS Department of Special Education, will connect families to each other and to additional information about services and resources offered by the school system and by community agencies and organizations.
Exhibitors will include:
- Abiltiies Network
- The Arc Baltimore
- Autism Society
- Baltimore County Health Department, Office of Chronic Disease Prevention
- KEEN (Kids Enjoy Exercise Now)
- Maryland Association of Nonpublic Special Education Facilities (MANSEF)
- Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities
- Maryland Coalition of Families
- Maryland Insurance Administration
- The Parents' Place of maryland
- Special Olympics
- We Rock the Spectrum Kid's Gym
When: Thursday, April 11, 6-8 p.m.
Where: Riverview Elementary School, 3298 Kessler Road
4th & 5th Grade Families Invited to Event at Ridgely
Attention Parents,
Please join us on April 17th, 6:30-7:30 pm, for a special Parent Evening at Ridgely Middle School. Speakers from the Baltimore County Department of Health will be sharing information on Current Trends in Youth Substance Abuse. The substance abuse scene is not the same as it used to be. Join us in learning how to support our children in today's environment!
Please RSVP on the attached link: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=3cPDSRs_g0GOdLONSDpa_Rc-PBfRlHdNiCCmLjUoZJxUQ0swQ0dHSFJDTlJTNVBLS09PUk1TWU9CNC4u
5th Grade Middle School Orientations
Quick reminder of the 5th Grade Orientation/Open House occuring at our feeder middle schools. Flyers attached.
Ridgely Middle: Wednesday May 1st, 6:00 - 7:30
Dumbarton Middle: Wednesday April 17th, 5:00 - 7:00
Hour of Power Follow-Up
I wanted to share out to the community some impact data on our Hour of Power math initiative for grades 3-5 that ran during their double special day from the return from winter break to our release from spring break. I am sharing to celebrate this outcome as it took full community investment! Parents supported with duplicating games and activities, the PTA supported snacks, parents volunteered to support student learning, the staff went above and beyond for students, and the kids were their awesome selves. This initiative -- and its outcome, it a testament to the "ALL IN!" commitment that makes this school such a special place.
The initiative was driven by Fall math MAP Data, from which teachers tailored math games and activities to reinforce and grow targeted skills. With significant help from the community, PTA, and leadership from our special area and classroom teachers, we saw great outcomes for our students.
In 3rd Grade: 81% of students improved their national percentile rank in Mathematics, moved up an achievement band in one of the targeted skills, or both.
In 4th Grade, 82% of students improved their national percentile rank in Mathematics, moved up an achievement band in one of the targeted skills, or both.
In 5th Grade, 84% of students improved their national percentile rank in Mathematics, moved up an achievement band in one of the targeted skills, or both.These are remarkable outcomes worth taking a beat to pause and celebrate. We will take lesson learned, including the student perspective which we surveyed this week, and consider what lessons we can learn from this project for future years.
Spring Family Night -- A Music Jamboree!
Spring family night is Tuesday April 30th from 5:30 - 7:30. This year, we will be celebrating music and invite our community to be a part of the event!
We will have student groups perform and opportunities for students to teach parents some of the instruments they use in school, but want to also share the love of music in our community!
In addition, the PTA is helping to organize 3 opportunities for families to be involved with the musical portion of Spring Family Night.
1) A chance to show off your own student's or family member's musical talents by hosting an instrument demonstration - this will be in the gym and hallways between performances
2) Host a "tasting room" to engage families with the sounds of a genre of music you enjoy or are passionate about - this will be held in classrooms (the school can provide devices you can use to share recordings/music videos [school appropriate, please!])
3) Perform as a solo act or group - this will be held outside under the lights or in the Rec Room if it rains
We are also looking for volunteers for set-up, clean-up and help during the event.
Please share your interests via this Google Doc and we will be back in touch with you soon. Questions can be emailed to Liz Roe - lizroe7@gmail.com.
Lutherville Lab Fun Run
The PTA will be hosting our 2nd annual fun run as a fundraiser for the special education department. Saturday, May 4th (rain date May 11th) at 1pm on the school fields. Popsicles will be made available to every participant, with larger prizes up for runners. Flyers will be out next week, but you can sign up on the PTA's site here: https://luthervillelabpta.memberhub.com/store/items/842749
Thanks & Recognition for THB Spirit Day, Kindergarten Roundup and Teacher & Staff PD Day Lunch
What an amazing day we had on Wed - Kindergarten Roundup, THB Spirit Day and a PTA lunch for the teachers & staff! A shout-out to Maureen Henley, our Spirit Events co-chair, Hayley Rose and Kim Harcum, our Hospitality Chairs and all our staff, volunteers, and of course, the kindergarten teachers - we appreciate all of you! Our LL family makes many amazing things happen and we can't wait for more leopards & their families to join us next year and to keep the events rolling!
By Mon April 15th: Venmo or Meal Offering for Ms. L
As many are aware, Ms. L (Loretta), one of our cafeteria staff, was displaced from her home for over a year due to a car driving into her house and then a tree falling on her roof. Ms. L was just recently, finally, able to move back in and we would like to celebrate her return by providing a gift card and a few meals for Ms. L and her sister. If you would like to contribute, please Venmo Hayley Rose - @Hayley-Rose-9 - with Ms. L in the memo or email luthervillelabpta@gmail.com about a meal or other item of donation. Thank you to Maija Johns for already providing a beautiful wreath for Ms. L's door!
By Mon April 15th, RSVP or donate: Spring Clean Up, Sat April 20th from 10 am - 12 pm, School Grounds
This SignUp Genius is an RSVP for those who can attend and also provides a sign up for materials that can be donated before or during the event.
By Fri April 19th, RSVP to Volunteer: Holi Celebration Honoring Yash Honna, Fri April 26th, School Grounds
In the beginning of the school year (August 19, 2023), our Lutherville Lab Family lost one of our own students, Yash Honna. Yash was a remarkable child whose enthusiasm, curiosity, and joy for life brought light to our Lutherville Lab family.
Last year, Yash shared with his teacher, Mrs. McGee, a book about a Hindu holiday, Holi, which he and his family celebrated. The book was Festival of Colors by Kabir Sehgal and Surishtha Sehgal. Yash and Mrs. McGee discussed the possibility of celebrating Holi at Lutherville Lab.
We are pleased to announce that we will be holding our first Holi Celebration on Friday, April 26, 2024 (a half day). We wish Yash could be here to experience it with us, but we will honor his memory and celebrate his life on this special day. The mention of Yash will be brief and appropriate for our children: Yash's friends, Carson, Ethan, and Jasper reading, via a video, the book Festival of Colors. The PTA will provide white "Lutherville Pride" T-shirts for each child, and each grade level will have the opportunity to tie-dye their shirts. We will also use colored powder to place handprints on a display for future Holi observances.
Perhaps you can join us as a volunteer to help with tie dye and handprints? If so, please RSVP here.
And as some background: Holi is a traditional Hindu festival of colors and love, and is celebrated at the beginning of Spring. It represents the eternal love of Hindu deities Radha and Krishna, and is celebrated to mark the victory of good over evil. The festival is highly inclusive, with one of its principal themes being unity. During the event, individuals let go of their inhibitions and start anew. At celebrations around the world, attendees color each other with colorful powdered dye/colored water covering everyone present in vivid hues.
We look forward to learning more together about this holiday, especially from our students and families who are Hindu and celebrate, and honoring Yash's memory.
By Sun April 28th: Order Yearbook(s), Online
Using ID code 15159724, head over to www.ybpay.com place your yearbook order.
A softcover copy is $20, hard copies are $25 and there are many add-on options for personalization including shoutouts to your student, a custom cover, autograph pages and stickers.
By April 26th: Sign up or sponsor: Lutherville Lab PTA's 2nd Annual Fun Run - Fundraiser for Special Ed Dept, May 4th, 1 pm
Sign up a runner - child or adult, all are welcome - or provide a sponsor here: https://luthervillelabpta.memberhub.com/store/items/842749
Contact Information
Website: https://luthervillees.bcps.org/
Location: 1700 York Road, Lutherville-Timonium, MD, USA
Phone: 443-809-7800
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LuthervillePTA/
Twitter: @LuthervilleLab